The present invention relates to a video game system (device) adopting a guide display suitably used to cause a main character on the video screen to perform a simulated experience (roll-playing) instead of a player using a cassette type storage medium including, for example, an optical disk, magnetic disk or semiconductor memory, also to a guide display method and a readable storage medium storing a guide display program.
In recent year, a variety of video games have been proposed. Among these are known fighting or competition game devices in which a main character fights with an enemy character via a gaming medium according to a game player""s instruction through an operation unit. For instance, the gaming medium may be a soccer ball, basket ball, or bamboo sword in a Kendo game. By showing such a gaming medium in a game, games having a better feel of presence can be provided. Fighting games using no gaming medium, e.g. battle games are also known.
Even in the case of a competition game which is established when the aforementioned game medium is present, in a game in which a training mode for improving the operability of a game player is adopted or a like game, the training mode can be carried out even without causing any gaming medium to appear on the video screen.
Regardless of the presence or absence of the gaming medium, the game player cannot necessarily clearly judge a contact and approach between the main character and the enemy character or between the main character and the gaming medium in the aforementioned games. Accordingly, the judgment of a program for judging a contact or approach on the game device and the judgment of the game player based on what he recognizes from the video screen may be different. Therefore, there is a certain limit in gaming operability, depending on the kind and contents of the game.
In view of the above problems residing in the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a video game device which adopts a specified guide display in order to enable a player to recognize an approach of a main character and an enemy character in the same way as the game device does, a guide display method for the video game and a readable storage medium storing a guide display program.
A first aspect of the present invention is directed to a video game device (claim 1) A video game device in which a competition is developed between a main character and an enemy character by giving instructions to move the main character operated by an operation unit in a game space displayed on a display screen, the video game device comprising:
a character processing means for displaying an area mark belonging to one of the main character and the enemy character and having a specified size,
a judging means for judging whether the other character has continued to be inside the area mark for a predetermined time, and
a game result output means for obtaining a result of the competition when the other character continued to be inside the area mark for the predetermined time.
With the above construction, the main character operated by the operation unit is instructed to move in the game space displayed on the display screen, a judgment is made as to whether the main character and the enemy character are located close to each other for the predetermined time, and the result of the completion is outputted if the two characters have continued to stay close to each other for the predetermined time. In this case, the area mark belonging to one of the main character and the enemy character and having the specified size is displayed, and whether the two character are close to each other is judged by judging whether the other character, i.e. the one to which the area mark is not affixed has continued to be inside the area mark for the predetermined time. Therefore, a game player can visually confirm that the two characters are close to each other based on a relationship with the area mark.
In the above video game device, the character processing means may be an enemy character processing means, and the game result output means may output a game result that the main character has won if he has continued to be inside the area mark for the predetermined time.
A second aspect of the present invention is also directed to a guide display method for a video game for instructing a main character operated by an operation unit to move in a game space displayed on a display screen and deciding winning of the main character if he has continued to stay close to an enemy character for a predetermined time, the method comprising the steps of: displaying an area mark belonging to the enemy character and having a specified size, and judging whether the main character has continued to stay close to the enemy character by judging whether the main character has continued to be inside the area mark for the predetermined time.
A third aspect of the present invention is directed to a readable storage medium storing a guide display program of a video game, enabling the video game to be played such that a main character operated by an operation unit is instructed to move in a game space displayed on a display screen and winning of the main character is decided by judging that he has continued to stay close to an enemy character for a predetermined time, said program comprising the step of: displaying an area mark belonging to the enemy character and having a specified size, and judging whether the main character has continued to stay closer to the enemy character by judging whether the main character has continued to be inside the area mark for the predetermined time.
With the guide display method and readable storage means constructed as above, the area mark of the enemy character is displayed and whether the main character has continued to stay close to the enemy character is judged by judging whether he has continued to be inside the area mark. Accordingly, the inventive guide display method and readable storage means can be suitably applied to games of such a mode in which a main character chases and approaches an enemy character, for example, a xe2x80x9cDefense Training Modexe2x80x9d of the main character in the soccer game or a so-called xe2x80x9cTagxe2x80x9d game in which the main character is a pursuer.